By Alicia Tyler on April 9, 2026 Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

What Canadian women regret most about money—and how Gen Z can avoid it

By Alicia Tyler on April 9, 2026 Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

From investing too late to lacking an emergency fund, many Canadian women share similar regrets. Here’s what Gen Z can do now to get ahead.

Nearly 7 in 10 Canadian women (69%) say they’d make different financial decisions if they could go back in time, according to new research from Meridian. And for women in their late 20s to mid-40s, the years where money decisions start to compound, the level of regret is even greater.

If that’s a stat that stops you in your tracks, consider it a gift. It’s a chance to learn from the older generation’s hard lessons before they become your own.

So what exactly are Millennial women wishing they’d done differently—and how can Gen Z get ahead of it now?

Starting sooner changes everything

If there’s one regret that comes up again and again, it’s this: starting too late.

“The biggest regret is waiting too long to start investing… that’s really being driven by not having the confidence and the knowledge early days when you start working,” says Dilys d’Cruz, Senior Vice-President of Retail & Wealth at Meridian Credit Union.

It’s not laziness, it’s hesitation. Not knowing where to start, or feeling like you don’t have “enough” to make it worth it.

Compare the best TFSA rates in Canada

But here’s the part that stings: time matters far more than the amount. “Some calculators would suggest that waiting five years to start investing can reduce your long-term portfolio by 25 to 35%,” d’Cruz says.

Unfortunately, that’s not a small penalty for waiting until you feel ready. The takeaway for Gen Z isn’t to suddenly become a market expert, it’s to start imperfectly—and........

© MoneySense